Halloween costumes for students: How to nail a creepy outfit without a terrifying price tag

No time to mess about creating a gothic masterpiece? Just head to the medicine counter for some grubby looking bandages...

With bank balances like these, students don't need to wait for Halloween for a fright (Getty)

Halloween is only a few days away and you’ve realised you still don’t have a costume. Your Amazon Prime free trial has run out so there’s no chance of getting a costume delivered, and you’ve already blown the majority of your student loan on artistic looking posters and pizza, so you don’t have the funds to go full on Harley Quinn like everyone else. But don’t panic, we’ve put together a list of cheap and easy costumes that you can pull together in time for pre-drinks.

1. Mummy

You get to your local supermarket and all the decent Halloween costumes have sold out, so head straight to the medicine aisle and stock up on bandages. Get some dark eyeshadow to make the bandages look old and dirty and put some around your eyes for the thousands of years old look. Then wear your lightest, tightest clothes and start wrapping.

2. Robber

Get a plain white t shirt and a black sharpie and draw on stripes. Then use black face paint or eyeliner to paint on a black eye mask. If you have a black beanie hat - even better! Make a DIY swag bag with a white plastic bag and draw a dollar sign on it in black marker pen.

3. Ventriloquist dummy

Dig out black trousers and a white shirt, and if possible find a red bow-tie. But really it’s the face paint that is important. You’re going to need a white face, dark eyes and two lines coming down from either side of your mouth. For a more Jigsaw-esque look also do red swirls on your cheeks with red lipstick.

4. Ghost

It’s the yearly dilemma of should you look hot or scary? Neither! You’re dressing in a bed sheet. Take that old bed sheet that you probably should have thrown out months ago, cut two eye holes in it and transform yourself. Arm holes are optional but thoroughly recommended, and white trainers are a bonus.

5. Zombie

A zombie is the perfect costume because it requires minimal effort, and is still suitably scary. You’ve probably managed to get one of the last tubes of fake blood from the back of a supermarket shelf (or red food colouring if you can’t get any) and now you need to do something with it. First rough up some old clothes, make them look a bit tattered and then put dark eyeshadow or smudged eyeliner under your eyes for that severely dead zombie look. Then, generously apply fake blood around your mouth, down your neck and on your hands.

6. Skeleton

The basics clothing section in any shop is your friend here. Get a plain black t-shirt and a plain white one. Cut ribs and a spine out of the black t shirt and then layer it over the top of the white t-shirt so the ‘bones’ show through. Then, using either white and black face paint or black eyeliner and talcum powder make your face white and then draw the outline of a skull on top.

7. Cereal Killer

Time to go through your housemates’ food cupboards or possibly even the recycling bin to find a cereal box. The more boxes you can get, the better. Cut the back off the box and make cardboard knives out of it to stick into the front of the cereal box. Stick the box onto an old t-shirt and splatter yourself in fake blood.

8. Ninja

Ninjas need to blend in and remain unseen so for this you will need to wear all black everything. You can use a plain black t-shirt to cover your head and lower half of your face, and then wear tight black clothes.

9. Doll

Similar to the ventriloquist, but less formal. For this costume wear an everyday skirt and tuck in a shirt with tights or knee high socks. Then use eyeliner and white face paint to make your eyes look oversized and give yourself drawn on long lower eyelashes. Then just rosy cheeks and a creepy stare should do it.

10. Eleven from Stranger Things

This one is less traditional but more trendy. If you happen to have very short brown hair or shoulder length blonde hair, this could easily work for you, otherwise wigs are going to be necessary. Wear a blue jacket and a pale pink top and have a single line of fake blood coming out of your nose. If you’re looking for a friend to go with your Stranger Things theme then draw the alphabet onto a plain light t-shirt and then wrap them up in either yours or a housemates fairy lights.